1957 Ford Galaxie-fairlane Front Bumper Guards on 2040-parts.com

German new car sales drop 11 per cent – pre-reg accounts for 33.5 per cent

New car sales in Germany dropped by 11 per cent in September with pre-reg cars accounting for over a third of all sales. That drop of 11 per cent in Germany is despite deep discount offers – an average of 12.2 per cent in September – with even the previously invincible Mercedes and VW having to offer discounts of up to €3k, despite which VW’s sales fell by 20 per cent in Germany and Mercedes by 12 per cent. What’s perhaps most interesting about the decline in car sales in Germany is the number of pre-reg cars sold (pre reg cars are cars registered by dealers to hit sales targets and then sold at a discount of up to 25 per cent).

Porsche considering full factory F1, Le Mans teams

New Porsche CEO and president Matthias Muller is weighing up a review of Porsche’s motorsport activities – and claimed the sports car brand could re-enter Le Mans with a full factory team, or even F1. Muller was appointed on 1 October 2010 and has lots on his plate: he’s a VW veteran and is charged with integrating Porsche smoothly into the Volkswagen business empire as Wolfsburg ratchets up its ownership of Porsche. That integration includes motorsport, he told CAR at the 2010 Paris motor show.

Design Contest: AutoStyle 2011

The newly renovated Polirone Abbey in San Benedetto Po, Italy, will again play host to the Autostyle design competition on October 6th and 7th. Now in its eighth edition, the event is more than just a design contest; it is also a workshop on the state of the auto industry. Devised by Roberto Artioli, managing director of Berman SpA, an OEM parts and genuine accessories designer and supplier, and Fulvio Cinti, Director of Auto & Design magazine, the event will honor the winners of this year's competition and present a total of five awards to 12 finalists, which have been selected out of 80 applicants from different design schools.